The invention relates to a steering wheel lock for motor vehicles of the type having a steering column of adjustable inclination.
German Patent Specification No. 3,221,484 describes a steering wheel lock for a motor vehicle with a vertically adjustable steering wheel, in which a locking cylinder is moved integrally with the steering column and its key insertion orifice is shifted in a longitudinal slot in the dashboard.
Such an extended dashboard orifice is detrimental to the overall arrangement of the surrounding fittings and, because of the space which it requires, demands an additional outlay in terms of material and manufacturing steps in order to achieve an appropriate design.
The particular exposed orifice of the longitudinal slot has to be covered by a cover part, so that the driver does not push the vehicle key into the dashboard next to the key insertion orifice.
At the same time, the range of movement of the steering lock places high demands on the deformability of the cover part and/or on its guides, thus resulting in further costs.
German Published Unexamined Application (DOS) No. 3,443,712 discloses another steering wheel lock arrangement which includes a cardan coupling for accommodating tilting movement of a steering shaft.
An object of the invention is to design a steering wheel lock such that the steering column continues to be easily adjustable, despite the fact that there are no longer any possibilities for the housing surrounding the key insertion orifice to shift transversely to its axial direction in the adjacent region of the dashboard.
This object is achieved by providing a gimbal connection at respective square telescoping housing parts of a locking cylinder housing and a detent pin housing.
As a result of the articulated connection of the housings and the movement transmitting shafts, the inclination of the steering column is easily adjustable, without position of the locking cylinder in the dashboard having to be changed.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.